Living On A Dime

is a very cool site that I love to visit when I have time. Anything that helps me manage money -OR- the lack of money just thrills me to death. When it comes to real people's experiences - I feel like they come from the heart.
     
I was skimming over it today and happened to read this little tid-bit:

. Everything is difficult and awkward when you first try it. Everything has obstacles that need to be overcome in order to succeed (That’s the secret to success: overcoming obstacles) and if you don’t give up you will obtain more knowledge, skill and strength.
I wrote the definition of skills down so you could make note of a few keywords like practice. That means, "to train at something by repeated exercises or to form a correct habit by repetition." You need to do something over and over to get good at it.
I always say if you want to learn to bake a pie, make one every day for 14 days and at the end of that time you will know how to bake a pie. Why? Because you will have made every mistake there is in making one and hopefully will have learned not to do the same thing wrong the next time. You need to do this with anything.
If you keep practicing, you will become competent. Notice the order. You can’t become competent until you have practiced. You then gain an understanding of what you are doing and discernment so that you can effectively and readily (quickly) perform the job at hand

It hit me as so funny - BECAUSE- that is my theory also. When Lynne started giving me sewing lessons we would work on one project at class. Then I decided I would attempt the same thing at home and I learned that what I had taken in at class WAS VERY DIFFERENT -from what I was seeing at home with no Lynne to hold my hand. Plus, it was very scary and at times very disappointing because it did not seem like I could retain the knowledge that she had so kindly shared. Matter of fact - it really broke my heart! I wanted to be able to accomplish this goal and I also did not want to disappoint Lynne - you know - make her feel like she was "wasting her time". because I treasured every minute that she shared with me! And I still do!

My goal was that I would be able to eventually have an entire closet designed and manufactured by ME - for Me - By Me! I think that was somewhere around four years ago and I still have not accomplished my goal entirely -but I am getting there! :) Plus, it seems like the clothes that for some reason you do not enjoy -last a lot longer than the ones that you really treasure. I belive this because every piece that I dearly love -just seems to wear out faster. Another note here is that every article I have made myself - I do truly love and I do not shop at the Goodwill as much anymore.

Lynne started me out on simple projects - you know like a fleece pillow first and it was about the third lesson that she told me I would be sewing clothes next! My heart about burst with fear and anticipation! Me????? Be able to sew clothing?????? My heart wanted to believe it - but my common sense was telling me that might not be true? When I was in school I thought that all of my classmates were all created equal - if we just wanted it. But here -now-many footprints later- I know this is not true for me anymore. Part of it might have something to do with age , but the major part of it is the fibromyalgia fog. People speak of it so lightly - but when it kicks in it is a true disability. You feel like you are attempting to insert a square peg in a round hole . It makes you want to just give up. But I believe with me that my want to be able to learn this "square peg" is a little more determined than that "round hole" disability. Some days I win- some days it wins . Makes me think I have an "evil" twin somewhere !

I have one shirt that is about four years old and this Spring I was wearing it when I was taking the pitts out of some cherries. They were a pale yellow color -not red!- and the juices were very colorless and I did not think anything about the few that I had dribbled on my shirt.

BUT - after I had washed it - it was very badly stained. I have tried everything I could think of -but the stains are terrible. Makes it look like it is covered in rust stains! UCK!  I was looking at it this morning and thinking there are very few times I would even wear it now because it makes me sad that I was so dumb to allow it to be ruined. It is getting that wore out look to it also - so I told it this morning that I might have to turn it into a nice doggie pillow! :)